*By Michael Teich*
Though iPhones and Mac computers made in China have been spared U.S. tariffs, the brewing trade war between Washington and Beijing could finally catch up with Apple, the world's most valuable publicly traded company.
None of the tariffs considered by the Trump administration so far have materially affected Apple's business, but in his third-quarter earnings call with analysts on Tuesday, Apple's CEO Tim Cook said it was too early to predict if other policies under consideration could affect the company's bottom line.
"Our view on tariffs is that they show up as a tax on the consumer and wind up resulting in lower economic growth," Cook said in Tuesday's call.
Mike Murphy of Quartz told Cheddar that consumers' willingness to pay for Apple's most expensive productーthe iPhone Xーis a good sign that even a trade-war inspired bump in prices for its other devices won't deter loyal iPhone users.
"If we have no problem buying a $1,000 phone, we'll probably have no problem buying a $1,100 phone," Murphy said in an interview Wednesday. The iPhone represents Apple's biggest source of revenue.
If tariffs were to hit Apple, they would likely affect the company's fastest-growing division, "Other Products," which includes Apple Watch, AirPods, and the HomePod.
Revenue from other products reached $3.74 billion in the third quarter, up 36 percent from a year earlier. Apple doesn't disclose exact numbers for the Apple Watch, but Cook said sales grew in the "mid-40 percent range."
Apple does not appear worried about the prospect of tariffs dampening its business. The Cupertino-based company delivered fiscal fourth quarter revenue guidance of between $60 billion and $62 billion, topping Wall Street's estimate of $59.47 billion, according to StreetAccount.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/apple-spared-trumps-tariffs-for-now).
Social media platforms are often flooded with unverified information, and many people use their news feeds as their main source of news. But Snap is working to set itself apart as it partners with global news outlets to launch Dynamic Stories. Vetted news content will be available for users on the Discovery tab, and news outlets will have an easy way to push content out and reach more people. Alan Wolk, Co-Founder and Lead Analyst at TVREV, joins Closing Bell to discuss Snap's push into news, how it will monetize clicks, whether or not another social media site will imitate the feature, and more.
"New Collar" is a recent term coined for tech jobs that don’t necessarily require a degree but do need a specified technological skillset. Matt Calkins, CEO at cloud-computing and software company Appian, joined Cheddar News to discuss the latest. "This new collar movement is about switching the track you’re on and getting out to a higher value track, making the most of your skills," he said.
Ice Cube's 3-on-3 basketball league, the Big3, is introducing decentralized team ownership to fans with the chance to own a minority stake in the 12 teams through blockchain technology, a first for professional sports. The rapper, actor, and filmmaker joined Cheddar News to talk about the new ownership model using NFTs. "This is a perfect time to offer it to fans and not just wait for fat cats to come and want to buy the teams but for fans to be able to be a part of it,” he said.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 13, 2022, with President Biden referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a genocide, a suspect has been identified in the Brooklyn subway shooting that injured 23 people, New York’s lieutenant governor has resigned due to bribery allegations, and more.
Elon Musk’s huge Twitter investment took a new twist Tuesday with the filing of a lawsuit alleging that the colorful billionaire illegally delayed disclosing his big stake in the social media company so he could buy more shares at lower prices.